B.C. rolls back speed limits on 570 km of highway (but not the Coquihalla)

Speed limits along the the Coquihalla Highway will not be decreasing. (via Tereza Verenca)

The B.C. government is clawing back the speed limit by 10 km/h on 15 sections of highway across the province.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says it has thoroughly reviewed three years’ worth of data on 33 segments and 1,300 kilometres of highway where speed limits were increased as part of the 2014 Rural Safety and Speed Review.

The segments of road that will see a speed limit decrease. (via Government of B.C.)

“Since the former government raised speed limits in 2014, serious crashes have been on the rise,” says Transportation Minister Claire Trevena in a press release. “By rolling back speed limits slightly, our goal is to reduce accidents, keep roads open and protect the lives of British Columbians.”

The speed limits on the Coquihalla, where variable speed limits are in place, will remain the same.

Roads where local drivers will see a change include on Highway 1 from Tobiano to Savona and Chase to Sorrento.

According to the release, on 14 of the 33 segments reviewed, the average operating speed either stayed the same or decreased after speed limits were increased, including the Coquihalla.

In 2016, the government rolled back the speed limit on two corridors: Highway 1 from Hope to Boston Bar and on Highway 5A from Princeton to TN Boundary. The change was in response to a years’ worth of data collected on the 33 segments that received speed limit increases. The data found 14 stretches of road had an increase in the collision rate while 19 had a decrease or no change in the collision rate.

The government says on all corridors where collisions increased, the RCMP will be boosting its enforcement to make sure people are following the signs.

KamloopsMatters has reached out to Todd Stone, Liberal MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson, for comment. We'll update this story when we hear back. Stone was the transportation minister when the speed limits were increased in 2014.

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